When do you need a braked trailer

[troy]

This has been worrying me for a long time and it will most likely confuse members.
My son bought a 4.6 dale fibreglass boat with a 70 e teck on it 2 years ago.
Now this boat builder is most likely not known to many but it is custom made and has a lot more glass in it then most of your popular brands.
This builder without doubt built quality boats but has now retired.
My son"s boat trailer is not braked and many more of these boats are the same.
So i thought i was not up with the regulations.
But i have been looking for a tinny a bit bigger then my 3.9 avalon as i do not own or want a bigger boat.
I wanted a tabs boat but no one up here in Nth Qld has the dealership.
So i had a look at the avalon 4.9 and was told i had to have a braked trailer as the boat motor and trailer is more then 750 kgs.
So where does it leave my son if he has a prang.
Troy

[finga]

Over 750kg of weight with the boat, motor, trailer and the rest of the gear in the boat or on the trailer definitely needs brakes old mate.
But check the car as well as a lot of cars require the use of brakes at less then the 750kg threshold.
What car has he got??

As for your son if he has a prang?? Dunno.

[gruntahunta]

Over 750kg of weight with the boat, motor, trailer and the rest of the gear in the boat or on the trailer definitely needs brakes old mate.
But check the car as well as a lot of cars require the use of brakes at less then the 750kg threshold.
What car has he got??

As for your son if he has a prang?? Dunno.

Not too many boats, motors and trailers loaded would go under 750kg. I have had about four/five 4.5 metre boats with 50Hp and not one ever has brakes on the trailer. One was brand new in 2000. My current is 4.75/85Hp and does have breaks. This also means a safety certificate is required for the trailer when advertising for sale.

[PinHead]

when do you need brakes on a trailer? Only when the mongrel in front of you jumps on the picks quickly..other than that..no need.
When I had the Striper..had the electric do dads..with the prodigy controller..never even bothered to set it up..just sitr back a bit and all is good..is it legal..hell no..never had any problems.

[oldie]

if he has a prang he will have no insurance full stop if they find the tow weight exceeds 750kg and has no brakes

[Fed]

In NSW they don't count the weight on the towball so if the whole rig weighs 850Kg but the weight on the towball was more than 100Kg then you wouldn't need brakes.

Probably the same in QLD but check first.

[Horse]

Same here. it over a weighbridge on the veihicle. Refuse stations often do it for free

[finga]

Whether or not brakes are required on a trailer is purely determined by GTM, as mentioned, which is the is the mass transmitted to the ground by the tyres of the trailer when coupled to a towing vehicle and carrying the maximum load recommended by the manufacturer or importer, approximately uniformly distributed over the load bearing area. ie ATM minus towball weight will give you GTM
A key to that is uniformly distributed. With a total weight of 850 and with a towball weight of 150 minimum there would be a concern in regards to 'approximately uniformly distributed'

But what is the ATM written on the little tag at the front of the trailer? That is the decider as to what weight can be on the trailer.

ATM is the total mass of the trailer when carrying the maximum load recommended by the manufacturer. This includes mass imposed onto the towing vehicle when the combination vehicle is resting on a horizontal supporting plane.


According to VSB1 (Commonwealth document) brakes ARE required on any trailer with a GTM (Gross Tare Mass) exceeding 0.75 Tonne.
Reference to document here http://www.infrastructure.gov.au/roa...b_01_b.aspx#15

All States have to abide by that document.
Here is a link to requirements in NSW and it seems they will abide by the old requirement (AIS 24) of no brakes needed if the trailer is less then 150kg in itself with no load.....BUT THAT IS ONLY FOR A TRAILER 1ST REGISTERED BEFORE 1ST OF JULY 1990.
http://www.rta.nsw.gov.au/registrati...oads/vib03.pdf
There are some other exemptions applicable with AIS 24

Lots of boats weigh less then 750kgs on their trailer BUT when you fuel it up and add all the other stuff like esky's and fishing gear a lot of new boats sold legally on a non-braked trailer will become illegal according to the ATM on the compliance plate on the trailer.
Check the little tag on the side. It will have a ATM figure stamped or engraved on it. With no brakes it will be 750kgs....no towball weights mentioned on that plate.
If there is no compliance plate on the trailer as it was first registered before when-ever the cut off date was then you may have a little leeway in regards to weight but not much. And only if the trailer could reasonably carry that weight.

I've never seen a GTM on a trailer. Anyone have a GTM on their trailer compliance plate?

[cormorant]

assumably a trailer at 75o kg or over not attached to a vehicle on public land would be illegal but attach it to a car and it is legal?

Careful with manufacture plates a swell if you are close to the limit . By the time walkway, spare tyre, electric winch , extra rollers it all adds up.

If there was a accident the insurer could wipe their hands of you . You may get lucky and they may apportion the claim if teh trailer having no brakes didn't contribute to the accident. Hope you have deep pockets to gain that result. Police and Traffic authority are different again and if they book you for the accident and for the trailer is overweight , not roadworthy etc insurers will walk away. In small accidents none of eth above is likely to really happen depending on how nasty it gets , whether police attend etc but if there is a death or major accident you can expect your car and trailer to be closely looked at as insurers scramble to appoint blame and try and deny responsibility at every opportunity. That goes for brakes that don't work , stainless cables, rates shackles and are not maintained etc.

[Lovey80]

What is the most GTM a single axle trailer can be before it requires dual axles? Am I correct that 2200Kg is the maximum before electronic break away is required?

[Jarrah Jack]

What is the most GTM a single axle trailer can be before it requires dual axles? Am I correct that 2200Kg is the maximum before electronic break away is required?

2000kg Lovely

[finga]

What is the most GTM a single axle trailer can be before it requires dual axles? Am I correct that 2200Kg is the maximum before electronic break away is required?

Mate, the single axle requirement is purely up to the load rating of the axle, suspension and tyres.
I have a couple of axles here that I'm going to build a bit of a trailer with.
They're 61mm round with 12X2" electric brakes. They're rated at 3,000kgs per axle. This would be legal to use at that rating if the tyres and suspension match, or better, the axle rating.
I'm going to use both axles to make a trailer rated at 3500kg

And it doesn't actually say you need an electronic breakaway dodad at over 2 tonne.
Here is a quote from VSB1
Every trailer over 2 tonnes GTM must have brakes operating on all wheels. The brake system must cause immediate application of the trailer brakes in the event of the trailer becoming detached from the towing vehicle. Under these circumstances, the brakes must remain applied for at least 15 minutes.

A breakaway switch, relay and a big battery will do that won't it??.

[Feral]

1500kg is the heaviest I have seen a single axle braked trailer rated at.
You need to be very careful as a lot of cars now are only rated to tow 500kg before needing brakes. Bigger cars have allowed higher tow weights, but at a reduced speed limit. EG My ford is rated to tow 2.3 tonnes, but only at 80kph.

[Lovey80]

Ok sweet, this trailer I am building is simple hydraulic brakes on "single axle" and I intend to rate it at 1950kg. So I am good there

[cormorant]

What 1000kg rated tyres are you using and what rims? Full weight will be hard on bearings as well. Running parallel F truck?